


Let the Children Go

by Nathalorial



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Time Skips, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 08:31:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17220476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nathalorial/pseuds/Nathalorial
Summary: The Man in the Moon demands that Pitch let the children go, but the Nightmare King refuses. So the longer Pitch holds his grip of terror over the children of Earth, the more Guardians that Tsar Lunar will send to battle him. Meanwhile, Jack agonizes over what his brother has done and how far he has fallen, and over whether he should join the Guardians in defeating Pitch or not.





	Let the Children Go

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I wrote this a very long time ago, and apparently never published it, so I shall dredge it out of the files and upload it now. This little story was very heavily based on listening to The Plagues from the Prince of Egypt, and the constant back-and-forth between Moses and Ramesses while God sends the plagues in the background. So I applied it to Rise of the Guardians and the books they came from, Guardians of Childhood, and have the back and forth a little bit with Pitch and Jack while the Man in the Moon counteracts Pitch's evil. This story was also following one of the ideas that the writers and producers originally had for Rise of the Guardians, an idea that they ended up scrapping, in which Jack and Pitch were very close, much like brothers, and that an argument between the two led to Jack getting a nasty bump on the head that gave him amnesia. Obviously here I did not use the idea of amnesia, but I did take the 'brothers' bit and run with it. I also gave it a bit of back-and-forth in terms of time skipping. There will be Tsar Lunar sending the Guardians one by one to join the fray, but then we'll jump to the future where Jack has entered as well. I hope I didn't make it too confusing. Anyways, enjoy!

The Man in the Moon, Tsar Lunar, looked down on the small Earth below the Moon Clipper. He could see the children, the children he loved to watch and wished to protect so dearly, cower in terror every night as the light disappeared from the world, revealing shadows and phantasms and evil in dark corners. The Nightmare King had landed on Earth, and as he couldn't leave, he took advantage of the situation.

The shadows enjoyed the terror they could bring to the human children's minds.

The Tsar had tried reasoning with the Nightmare King, but Pitch refused to let the children go.

So Tsar Lunar sent his moonbeams to light the corners shrouded in gloom. He sent the spectral boy Nightlight, the very first Guardian, to combat the fearlings and push the Nightmare King back. He sent a wonderful young lady named Katherine to read stories to the children, to send their fears out of their minds with colorful pictures and rhymes. And Tsar Lunar sent the wise old Atlantian wizard Ombric to teach the children how to guard their minds against the dread that Pitch Black tried to bring forth.

But the Nightmare King would not relinquish his hold on the children of Earth.

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Jack looked up sadly at Pitch Black as the man circled the room in the shadows, talking down to the Guardians about how he had been treated for so many years and how the children were no longer believing in him. Jack had once thought of this man as a brother, all he cared about for the longest time was making this shadow before him laugh. Now his brother, Pitch, cared more for hurting others than in joining in Jack's winter games.

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Tsar Lunar looked down and could see that the moonbeams he had sent were dimming, the nightmare King was fighting back and would not let go of his reign of terror. So the Man in the Moon sent another, a ruffian and scoundrel of a man at first sight, who grew up in the wilds of Russia and trained under the eyes of Cossacks, to join the fight and combat the Nightmare King. For who could best match a King in battle but a King himself? A King of Bandits this man was, with a mind and temper as sharp as his sabers, yet kind and gentle when he knew he should be. Tsar Lunar brought Nicholas St. North into the fray to aid Nightlight and Katherine and Ombric. A man who could see the wonder in everything around him.

But the Nightmare King would not give up.

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Jack knew he wasn't a Guardian, knew he couldn't be, with his background. Pitch was his brother at heart, he couldn't possibly hurt him, regardless of what the man had done to hurt others. Jack yelled at the Guardians, at the Man in the Moon himself, that their life was not for him. Serving as Pitch's foe on behalf of the Tsar was the last thing he wanted to do.

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The kind Man in the Moon watched as North and Pitch clashed time and again in battle. Nightlight did what he could to protect the children from fearlings each night, and North would travel with Ombric in search of items to help their cause. But evil is cunning, and Pitch often dashed their plans to pieces, as well as make off with some wondrous creation North had made. Tsar Lunar knew he had to send more help.

So he sent a pooka.

The last of his kind, this pooka had made his home on Earth, reshaping it to stop it's spiral into the sun, creating new land and plant-life and creatures to better fill the world's wilds. He governed the travel of time, insuring that those who wished to see the past only viewed and did not change. The pooka was also an amazing candy maker, which was a bonus, considering that something sweet often distracted and comforted children from immediate threats.

This pooka had seen the destruction the Nightmare King had wrecked on his own planet, had witnessed the genocide of his entire race, and held a deep hope that the same would not happen to this world he cared for so dearly. He committed himself to learning all he could possibly learn about magic and battle. So Tsar Lunar sent E. Aster Bunnymund to help North and the other Guardians battle Pitch Black.

And still the Nightmare King would not take the fear away from the children.

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Jack felt a tear roll down his cheek as he flew through Burgess. Children he had grown fond of walked the streets or sat at home with tired, despondent faces. They innocence was slowly being taken away from them with the nightmares they suffered each night. Jack thought about the Guardians, about how much he hoped he could stop Pitch and bring him to his senses, but failed before an arrow had buried itself in Sandy's back.

Colors were dimmer. No one slept. Many feared. The Guardians felt broken at the moment with the loss of their friend. Even though he was not a Guardian himself, Jack had liked Sandy. But Pitch had killed him and taken the dream sand for himself, fueling his army of nightmares. Jack could hardly believe that Pitch, his brother, would do something like that. Was it out of pride? Stubbornness?

Jack had pleaded with Pitch to stop his madness, had told the shade just how much it tortured him in his heart to see his brother stoop so low.

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The Man in the Moon watched Bunnymund and North and Nightlight push the Nightmare King back from the children of the world, watched the moonbeams clear up any stray fearlings they came across. Perhaps this time they had succeeded.

But then he saw that the Nightmare King had merely made a tactical retreat, and had fallen back on some new allies of his own; a scorned maharajah who had his humanity taken from him, leaving him deformed, and his army of monkeys. The Tsar knew this threat was greater, and sent yet another to help his Guardians protect the children.

Her name was Toothiana, and she was half human, half bird. Her mother was one of the legendary Sister's of Flight, a race of proud immortal winged women who flew the jungles and guarded the mythical winged elephant. Elephants never forget, and Toothiana learned that a child's tooth contains important memories of childhood. Toothiana flew the world, collecting children's fallen teeth and rewarding them with coins and gems and trinkets. An accomplished warrior herself, Toothiana made a fine addition to the team of Guardians, protecting the children and safeguarding their memories.

But even with his allies defeated, Pitch would not stop sending the shadows into children's minds.

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Jack would not have it anymore. Pitch was his brother in heart, but he had to be stopped. The Man in the Moon had asked Jack to help, knowing he was the only one that could convince Pitch to end his reign of terror. He HAD to let the children go.

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Pitch stared at Jack, confused and saddened as to why the boy was standing before him with such a look on his face. Jack was a little brother to him, sure they had their arguments now and then, but did Pitch really do anything to deserve the hate that Jack so clearly held for him now? Did Jack really want this?

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Tsar Lunar looked over the oceans and spotted a person he had seen before, many years ago, piloting a shooting star. This little sandy man could grant wishes with his dreams, knew everything there was to know about dreaming, and heard every wish that was directed at his little ship. The Man in the Moon knew that this little, pudgy, lovable man would be a great addition the his Guardians, and asked him to join his cause in protecting the little ones.

Sanderson Mansnoozie held a certain fondness for the children, and was always very silent when sending out dreams and granting wishes, for fear that he may accidentally wake the children up if he spoke. So, silent and steady, the Sandman joined the Guardians and pushed the nightmares away with good dreams of his own design, allowing the children to sleep safely in the night.

And still, the Nightmare King remained unmoved.

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Pitch hardened his heart towards Jack. It was obvious to him that the little frost spirit that he had come to love as a brother no longer cared for him the same way. So he broke Jack's staff, threw him into a ravine and left him for dead.

Pitch no longer cared who or how many suffered, he had fought the Guardians for so many years and been pushed back so many times that he was growing desperate. He had hoped Jack would see reason and come back to him, help command his army of nightmares and fearlings, but the boy would not listen.

Jack was no longer his brother. He was the enemy, and had to be disposed of, just like the other Guardians. No matter what Jack said, Pitch would not let the children go.

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The Man in the Moon, in one last-ditch-effort to stop the Nightmare King, called on the help of one more person. A winter sprite, a boy named Jackson Overland Frost. Jack was a good spirit at heart, Tsar Lunar could see that, and he was positive that Jack could finally stop Pitch. Jack and Pitch were very close to each other, brothers at heart. It was a long shot, but if he could convince Jack to join the Guardians, perhaps the reign of terror would finally be put to an end.

The other Guardians would be slow to trust Jack, he knew that much, because of Jack's history with Pitch. But deep down, the boy was good, and all he wanted to do was have fun. Who else had the compassion in their hearts to care for the Nightmare King?

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The Nightmare King refused to....

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Tsar Lunar would force Pitch to...

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Jack had to make his brother....

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...Let the children go.


End file.
